TOLKIEN loved the English landscape and his writing was greatly influenced by it. He perceived a mythological emptiness caused by successive waves of cultural invasion. So he created mythologies which our landscape lacked.

As editor of Mordiford’s Parish Newsletter, The Dragon, I received a thesis from a New Zealander suggesting that the Mordiford landscape played a major role in the genesis of The Hobbit.

He refers to the story of Maud and the dragon and provides poems and illustrations to back up his theory. He points out that Tolkien did suggest Saxon Mercia as a model for his ‘Middle Earth’.

Those reading the thesis on the parish website dormingtonmordifordgroup-pc.gov.uk might well want to follow the Tolkien Trail here in Mordiford. It is ill-defined but there are many things to see – the mill, Moon Inn, bridge, church, wandering tracks, lime kilns, and the views!

Peter Jackson’s version of Middle Earth has become a significant part of New Zealand’s tourist industry. There, tourists view film sets. Here we have the real deal.

I'd welcome readers' opinions on the theory.

BRIAN DUKES Pentaloe Close, Mordiford